#2 ~ Smiling makes everybody look good. Lets make this world a more attractive place!

#3 ~ Our kids are watching. What example do you want to set for your kids? Personally I want my kids to witness me being that friendly-to-the-extreme person waiting in line at the grocery store, rather than the person who is reluctant to return a smile or a hello. I have to remind myself to be really friendly ALL the time. Some days it comes easy, others it just doesn’t. That’s OK.

#4 ~ Smiling is contagious. Most folks that receive a smile from you actually do smile back – many times people are deep in thought or just unaccustomed to being smiled at by a stranger, so when you think you’ve been snubbed, it’s not likely the case! Spread the love to everyone you see! It will come back to you in full circle.

#5 ~ A smile can change, or even save, a life. Haven’t you ever experienced a kind word or smile from a stranger { an angel some people say } that completely lifted your spirits just when you needed it the most? Imagine what a smile can mean to someone who is feeling completely alone and hopeless. We can’t do as much for people in need as we’d like to much of the time, but we can be that smiling angel in someones day.

You just never know how your smile can change the world for one person.

Our story with the symptoms known as ‘autism’ is very dear to my heart, but one I don’t talk about much. I tend to want to dwell in the present positive happenings in our life now, but what I learned in the past is something I do need to share with other moms.

There are many, many other testimonies of determined and stubborn moms turning various autism spectrum disorders around, however there is still not ENOUGH information available on these stories.

I want to spread the word and share with you that autism is not random, nor simply genetic, and it IS NOT a mystery as the western medical establishment would have you believe.

When my daughter was … she had to have been between six and eight months old as I remember she was not yet on solids, I fed her first taste of dark green juice. I hadn’t intended to, but I was making my morning juice as usual and she reached out from her little play pen and up towards my cup. I gave her a taste in a glass baby bottle and the rest, as they say, is history.

She LOVED that green juice, and at the time I couldn’t help feeling so smug and proud! Finally, I’m going to do this right! I’m going to have one of the worlds healthiest kids! As I will explain in a future post, this was not how things would eventually play out. Did juice play a part in her issues? I don’t know.

Like I said, I’ll get to that.

HOWEVER, green juice HAS served us well, and I’m not knocking it in any way. I would simply advice past me to wait on giving that girl the green juice until she was old enough to understand the concept of “chewing” her juice.

… what?

Yeah, juice should be “chewed”, or more accurately, swished. Juice has long been held on a pedestal by many in the health community, including myself, as a miracle food that “doesn’t even require digestion!“. While it is true that juice can be considered a miracle food, it’s not exactly true that it requires no digestion.

What happens if it doesn’t get swished?

Well, it’s said to be akin to drinking sugar-water in a sense. Mixing the juice around in your mouth blends it with your salivary amylase, which is important because this enables your body to properly use the juice and absorb those nutrients you worked so hard to extract!

Parents, you can either strive to be a good patient to your doctor and loyal consumer to your pharmacist, or you can strive to always do right by your child and question everything, AKA, practice defensive parenting.

That sounds like a no-brainer right? Most people would say they always choose to put their children’s best interest at heart, which is why they take them to the doctor’s office for check-ups to begin with. But let’s look at this objectively, because the reality is that many well-intentioned people deny their initial parenting instincts in submission to their doctors will under the influence of white coat syndrome.

Why parents choose conventional wisdom over their children and natural wisdom:

Reason #1: Avoiding uncomfortable encounters

When you question your doctors recommendations for your child, you instantly become a kink in their scheduling, an annoyance in their day, and a curiosity in their month. Let’s be straight – they instantly don’t like you and things get uncomfortable.

Reason #2: Fear mongering

Western MD’s aren’t yet acclimated to having their omnipotence questioned, so likely when it happens they will raise their hackles and bark out the general scary stories and propaganda passed down to them by their great and wise leaders at Big-Pharma.

The common problem arises here for well-meaning parents: decisions made out of fear are the decisions they regret.

I remember what it’s like in the pediatricians office and on the receiving end of the well-seeming scare tactics, “There’s absolutely no pressure, but let me assure you that your child will probably fall prey to incurable disease and likely death, sooner than later, should you continue to question these vaccines, and let’s be honest with ourselves ( insert all-knowing smirk ), how will you live with yourself if that happens?”

Where in that kindly spiel was room left for time? Time for research, fact checking, critical thinking, perhaps a ‘gut check’ – all of the necessary components involved in rational decision-making?

There was none.

Reason #3: Parents don’t see themselves as qualified to perform research

I remember also sitting in the pediatricians office crying about our struggles with autism as it through it were yesterday. Upon voicing my concerns about a possible connection between vaccines and autism, I was told the following:

“It is natural to want to find a cause or a reason ( I have since dubbed this natural phenomenon with its technical term of ‘responsible parenting’ ) when something like this happens with children, but there is none to be found ( that could sit well with her after years of vaccinating children ), and at this point there is nothing you can do, no matter what you see on the internet…but vaccinate this child too, shall we?”

In all fairness, tacked on at the end of that last pseudo-empathetic ‘there is no causal link’ speech, permission to “think on it some more” was granted. Unfortunately I was afraid and armed with frightfully few accurate facts at that time, so that is the story of how my second child received her first and last round of shots.

The truth is that the internet houses garbage as well as gold, and I leave it to you to use your own powers of discernment here. So long as you have eyes to see, reading is not futile, and anyone who suggests as much is automatically in question.

And finally, the solution:

My suggestion to all parents is not one of vaccinating vs not vaccinating, it is simply to become that crazed THINK-HAPPY parent doctors dislike. And to remember: good consumers buy product; good parents question those products.

Fact check: In the 80’s it was actually illegal to vaccinate a child under the age of two in Japan, a country known for valuing citizen health.

As our communal discourse about vaccines continues, I am in part relieved just to see people at least willing to talk somewhat openly about the taboo subject. To quote Jon Rappoport of Nomorefakenews.com, “Vaccines are the holy sacrament of the medical church; they are supposed to be left alone.”

My heart, on the other hand, feels constricted as I see that the majority of people will continue to lap at the CDC’s feeding trough, hungry for the continuum of their comforting assurances – Life is safe. You are safe. We will protect you. Those big scary conspiracy theorists can’t puncture your safety net as long as we’re around.

I digress.

Printed in the September 10th, 2014 edition of the Homer News, a concerned citizen writes:

“I was dismayed to read the fear mongering anti-vaccination opinion piece by Ashley Gregoire published in the Homer news recently. She asserts that there was a major Centers for Disease Control “coverup” that recently came out, but she was terribly short on facts. The “coverup” was instead a disagreement on statistical data analysis reporting from one team member on a paper that was published 10 years ago.”

Allow me to respond with a statement that is not my own.

“My name is William Thompson. I am a senior Scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where I have worked since 1998.

I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics. The omitted data suggested that African-American males who received the MMR vaccine before age 36 months were at an increased risk for autism.Decisions were made regarding which findings to report after the data were collected, and I believe that the final study protocol was not followed.”

Dr. Thompson goes on to say that he still believes in the necessity of vaccines ect., but that the CDC has a responsibility to be straight forward about potential side effects.

I do not see this to be a report of disagreement among colleagues, barring the obvious fact that they probably disagree with Mr. Thompson’s recent decision to come clean. I see this as a clear admission of medical fraud.

It is also worth noting that two of Mr. Thompson’s aforementioned coauthors, Colleen Boyle and Frank DeStefano, hold positions as CDC research scientists under a conflict of interest as they are also high ranking CDC executives. This basically means they work the PR front for the CDC, making folks comfortable while simultaneously cooking data behind the scenes.

The concerned Homer citizen goes on to state that I fail to mention the 2010 retraction of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 submission to the Lancet suggesting a connection between MMR and the development of autism. I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Wakefield as the pioneer of medical and scientific integrity that he is. You can learn more about his fascinating story, research and vindication herehttp://youtu.be/LgWkhWkd_vo .

Delving further into this letter, said citizen voices concern for her safety and for the collective immunity of our community. Herd immunity, as I have voiced before, is a mythological phenomenon. There is absolutely no credible scientific evidence to prove that herd immunity is anything beyond a scare tactic, and if we look at the numbers we can conclude it is an outrageous lie.

Children under 15 years of age make up only 20% of the American population, and when we consider the fact that vaccines induce immunity lasting 5 – 10 years in the instances where they are effective at all, we are looking at a population wherein 80% of people are unvaccinated.

“Herd immunity is not a scare tactic made up by conspirators to devalue your individual freedoms. That is paranoia. Herd immunity works on a population-level basis and is fairly straightforward in it’s effectiveness – we have seen our collective immunity decrease as fear mongering like what we read from Mrs. Gregoire plays with the emotions of parents.”

No such collective immunity exists in scientific literature, nor do we observe it in everyday life. For example, every winter my children are exposed to every head cold and flu bug that flies around Homer, and in the uncommon instance they catch something it is generally very mild and short lived. This is because true immunity is dependent on personal responsibility in so far as one’s willingness to protect oneself through nutrition, supplementation, lifestyle and sanitation.

And I suppose, to this author, there is a fine line between the fear monger and the parent of a vaccine-injured child.

Or are the tales of vaccine-injured children another scary bedtime conspiracy story lacking in societal relevance?

All facts aside, the concern raised in this letter to the editor is legitimate and does not deserve harsh critique. In fact, no one individual, even within the medical community, is to blame for the spread of disinformation about vaccines; it is trust in a faulty system based on greed that is at the heart of discord between citizens on matters such as these.

It is not our collective immunity that should be called into question in Homer, AK. Our collective consciousness for the world and our neighbors beside us, however, is seemingly in trouble.

The following are just 10 questions fueling conspiracy fires that will never be covered/asked by mainstream media ( specific emphasis on mercury):

#1) Why do vaccines depend on herd immunity, a mythological phenomenon wherein one persons immunity determines another persons immunity, to be effective?

#2) If herd immunity is indeed essential in disease control, why are our smallest and most vulnerable citizens ALONE burdened with the current vaccine schedule? Vaccines, if effective at all, induce immunity that lasts no longer than 5 – 10 years.

Supposedly.

Non-vaccinating parents are told they are putting others at risk by not subjecting their children to inoculations, however children under 15 make up only 20% of the American population. Any questions?

#3) Why has the CDC and the AAP more than doubled the recommended vaccine schedule since 1983 if vaccines are indeed to thank for the decline and/or eradication of infectious disease?

#4) Why is mercury still present as a preservative in vaccines?

a. Why do doctors deny the continual use of mercury in vaccines while the CDC and FDA websites, as well as vaccine inserts, contradict these claims?

b. The FDA website previously stated that methyl mercury ( organic compound consumed primarily in seafood ) is more dangerous and accumulative than ethyl mercury ( inorganic form used in vaccines ) while also admitting that monkeys injected with ethyl mercury had MORE methyl mercury accumulation in their brain than did the monkeys who consumed methyl mercury ( ethyl mercury metabolizes in the body as methyl mercury ). This was reported to be in ratios of up to 71% – 10%. This information has been removed from the FDA site sometime within the last three months. Why?

c. The FDA website claims that “Organic forms of mercury are more easily absorbed and are less readily eliminated from the body than inorganic forms”, without giving a source for this bit of quackery information. Is this a joke? Or are we the readers supposed to swallow the idea that a CDC researcher could be so uneducated as to believe that injecting a substance into deep tissue leaves more room for elimination than does the process of digestion? ( side note: a healthy gut is non-permeable and will pass mercury without absorbing it into the bloodstream )

#5) Why was the medical definition of polio changed the year the polio vaccine was introduced, effectively eliminating 90% of all polio cases with the flick of a pen?

#6) Why was the public not made aware of the discovery of leukemia and cancer viruses in the original polio vaccines? And furthermore WHY were the contaminated vaccines not pulled from the market?

#7) Why do measles outbreaks occur primarily within vaccinated “pockets” of children? Do doctors recognize the shedding process that occurs after the administration of MMR, that it puts others at risk, and that measles is a recognizable side effect commonly experienced after receiving MMR?

#8) Why are non-vaccinated pockets of children blamed for measles ( and other ) outbreaks when at least one new study proves that vaccinated children are 5 times more likely to contract a preventable disease than children who are unvaccinated?

#9) Why are all of the studies conducted “proving” the efficacy and safety of vaccines conducted and overseen by the CDC and funded by the vaccine companies? Are we to believe they will reveal findings that would in any way compromise their cash flow?

#10) It is recommended that infants receive the Hep B vaccine within the first 12 hours of life.

I understand that Hepatitis B is very contagious and potentially deadly. But the question is, do doctors understand how Hepatitis B is contracted?

If you are about to have your first baby, you are already becoming aware of the many procedures and precautions that are standard for care in the U.S. throughout the process of pregnancy and birth. Though most procedures are set in place for the safety and well-being of your baby, you could be unaware of the risks involved that potentially outweigh the benefits.

In this post I will address the standard administration of the vitamin K shot, which is generally one of the first things on your birth attendants to-do list once your baby arrives. Depending on your care provider, you might receive an informative paper on the risks of vitamin K deficiency in newborns and the benefits of the vitamin K shot. I recommend that all parents thoroughly read this information as well as further research into the possible side effects and dangers of this routine shot, which I will briefly discuss below. Remember, this baby was given to YOU! You have a right to question anything recommended for your baby.

It so happens I am preparing for the birth of my third baby next month ( Yay! ), and this will be the first time I have chosen to decline the vitamin K shot for my baby.

What is the purpose of the Vitamin K shot?

The purpose of the vitamin K shot is to assist your baby’s blood clotting abilities in order to prevent the rare but devastating condition of bleeding into the brain in the weeks after delivery ( an estimated occurrence after about 1 in 10,000 births ), and as a precaution in case of newborn injury or circumcision.

Ok, so administering vitamin K sounds like a no brainer, right? Absolutely – but only at first glance. While there are clearly possible benefits to the vitamin K shot, it is very important to investigate the possible risks so that you can make an objective decision for your baby. In my own research both as a mother and as a student, I have decided that risks to my child from receiving the vitamin K shot heavily outweigh the suggested benefits.

Why do the risks outweigh the benefits?

To begin with, the vitamin K found in the shot is not real vitamin K as is found naturally in foods, but rather a synthetic vitamin K1 ( phytonadione ). There are real dangers related to use of synthetic vitamins ( further reading here: http://holisticchickblog.com/2013/06/30/515/ ), which are certainly higher for a newborn, and on the first day of life at that! In fact the standard dose mandated by most states is a whopping 100x an infants recommended daily allowance of phytonadione. It is also recognized that an infants liver doesn’t begin to function until about three to four days after birth, which leaves the infant incapable of detoxing this large dose of synthetic compound, along with the other dangerous ingredients in the shot ( derivative from coal tar and antifreeze, to name two ).

Probably the most notable danger of the shot is the link between high doses of synthetic vitamin K and childhood cancers and leukemia. Source: http://www.whale.to/y/vitk.html

In fact it has been estimated that the chances of a child developing leukemia from the vitamin K shot are 1 in 500.

1 in 500!?! Comparatively the risk of bleeding on the brain is far lower than that of developing leukemia.

Here are some other considerations to take note of:

· Animal studies have linked large doses of vitamin K to a variety of conditions that include anaemia, liver damage, kidney damage and death.

· Interestingly the common problem that occurs these days of jaundice in newborns has only been reported since the introduction of Vitamin K administration.

· According to the product insert, adverse reactions include haemolysis (or hemolysis – American spelling) (meaning breakdown of red blood cells), haemolytic anaemia (a disorder characterised by chronic premature destruction of red blood cells), hyperbilirubinemia (too much bilirubin in blood) and jaundice (yellow skin and eyes resulting from hyperbilirubinemia), and allergic reactions include face flushing, gastrointestinal upset, rash, redness, pain or swelling at injection site and itching skin. It also warns that large enough doses can cause brain damage in infants and/or impairment to liver function. Hypoxia has also been published as having occurred in infants after Vitamin K administration.—–

The need for the vitamin K shot has arisen since mothers have stopped eating diets rich in vitamin K. What doctors and obstetricians are not taught in medical school and therefore do not acknowledge is that as with all fat soluble vitamins, vitamin K is able to cross the placenta to the baby just fine. By eating plenty of vitamin K containing foods you can ensure that your newborn has enough of the nutrient to facilitate proper blood clotting abilities at birth.

Leafy greens, such as kale, collard greens, arugula, spinach, turnip greens and lettuce, as well as asparagus and broccoli, are all good sources of vitamin K1 ( phylloquinone ). Remember that in order for the body to absorb vitamin K it must be consumed with fat, so pair these foods with a quality oil dressing and or avocado. *Nettle tea is an excellent beverage to consume during the 3rd trimester as a plant source of exceptionally available vitamin K, however I would not recommend drinking more than one or two cups per day. Let your doctor or midwife know when you begin to take nettle tea.

Vitamin K2 ( menaquinone ) naturally occurs in animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs. While K2 has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and calcification of the arteries where K1 has not, it is worth noting that at most times during an adults life we need much less vitamin K2 than we do of K1. This is probably because K2 ( animal source ) tends to linger in the body tissues much longer than K1 ( plant source ).

Pregnancy, however, demands a completely different dietary routine, as we all know. Higher levels of vitamin K2 are required not just for the health of your baby, but to protect you from hemorrhaging after birth by ensuring your blood vessels to close to the appropriate amount. The last three weeks in particular is a great time to consume lots of organic pasture butter, which is quite high in vitamin K2 and will not hinder digestion as large quantities of meat would. This is an old tip that midwives supposedly shared with women long ago in the weeks leading up to their births.

Remember, don’t take my word for it! Do plenty of research before allowing any form of medication to be administered to you or your newborn. Questioning everything doesn’t make you a bad parent, it makes you an informed parent! Be a pain in your pediatricians butt for your child’s sake!

From the moment we find out we’re expecting, the fantasizing begins. Dreams of who our children will be, what their passions will be, what they will look like, and above all else, what awesome parents we will be. At least, thats how it was for me.

When my sweet Austin was born, he had my heart. He was the most perfect baby, and I never imagined him as anything different. The dreaming only intensified after he was born and I was able to love him in person, able to see how perfectly he put my earlier dreams to shame. I never knew how much I could love someone until he was here. He would love me too, and we would cuddle together, do art projects together, I’d teach him how to ride a bike and he would succeed; he couldn’t not do these things, he was perfect.

It didn’t take long for reality to set in. Reality was harsh compared to my dreaming, it told me that my sweet perfect son would struggle to do any of the above. Reality was finally understanding that I couldn’t possibly know what my sons future could hold, to what level he would be able to develop, or if he could ever have the happy life I always imagined.

At nine months old, he quit nursing. By eleven months old, I tried to think about the last time I cuddled him, and couldn’t remember it. By thirteen months old, I was sick of telling people there was nothing wrong with him.

By four he has been through more than I can type in one article, and I see him as perfect more than I ever have before. My son is a fighter, and now I am a fighter too. Any mother of a special needs child knows exactly what I’m talking about, but more than anyone, my words resinate with the mothers of children who didn’t have to live this way.

Our life has been a struggle, one that I feel very blessed to be a part of. I am no longer angry with the hand we were dealt and the choices I made and the people I trusted along the way that brought us here. I am in love with this life, and every day with my family is a blessing for which I am grateful.

I cry when we lose a battle and celebrate when we win one. I once thought of this journey as one battle, one that I would someday win. I now see and accept that our life is going to be one battle after another, and I can’t win every one. We will never stop fighting.

For those of you I haven’t shared this journey with, some can relate, and others will relate at some point down the road, because weather or not you ever have a child with autism, you’ll probably know someone who does. What I want to say to you is this, DO NOT quit the battle before it’s begun. Do not let someone else tell you that nothing can be done because you believe they are qualified to make that call.

The biggest battle we will ever fight is with society. Society tells you that if you fight for your child, you don’t accept them as they are. Society tells me that autism has no cause and no cure. Society also tells me that I am just looking for something to blame, some explanation to hold on to, and about this they are correct.

I am here to say to anyone who will face these struggles in the future, that if you listen and if you believe that nothing can be done, nothing will be done. But if you believe in miracles, and the power of perseverance and the power of prayer, you will succeed. The only choice before you is to pick a side, for that will be the deciding factor.

As for me, I WILL NOT ever quit fighting, I WILL NOT listen to lies when I can see truth in my own home, and I WILL NOT be silenced. There will always be those that want you to blend in and conform. They will ridicule you for your lifestyle choices, they will not understand you, and even some that understand but wish you didn’t.

There is no profit in America’s families knowing the truth. There is no justice for the stolen life of a child. But I am here to tell you that while there is no justice, there IS hope. Never quit searching for answers that doctors and teachers won’t give. No one can care and no one can love and no one can fight like a mother can.

Some call me stubborn, and many will say that I just won’t accept things as they are; they would be correct. If I wasn’t stubborn, and if I accepted things as they are, my son wouldn’t have the life he has today. He couldn’t have made the strides accredited to therapy that he’s made.

There was a long time I fought this battle in silence. I didn’t speak about this because I feared disapproval, and because it took a few years for even me to comprehend how very hard we were actually struggling. I now believe more than ever that I am meant to be here on this path for a reason, and I will never quit fighting for not just my son, but for every one who is lied to.

I WILL NEVER be silenced again, I WILL NEVER conform, and I WILL NEVER quit speaking the truth. If I give light to one deceived mother, or one young woman who looks apon herself as less than enough because of advertising, I will consider my business a success.